Carton and liner therefor and method of using the same



Feb. 19, 1935. Q H. KQNDQLF 1,991,616

CARTON AND LINER THEREFOR AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME Filed Aug. 24, 1932 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 19, .1935

UNITED STATES PATENT j OFFICE r r 1,991,616 cAn'roN AND, LINER THEREFOR r METHOD OF USING THE SAME HenryKondolf, NewlYork, N. Y., assig'n'br to Southern Kraft Corporation, New York, N; Y.,: a corporation of Delaware Y I Application August 24,

My invention relates to the art of packaging and shipping fruit, vegetables, and other commodities, more particularly produce of a perishable nature, and to cartons and liners therefor useful in this art. I

As is well-known, in packaging fruit, vegetables, and other perishable produce it is necessary to provide for ventilation of the contents of the carton, which ventilation should extend as far as possible into the interior-of the package,

It is also highly desirable that s'uchmeans for ventilation as are provided in cartons of this character shall be so constituted that when a considerable number of the cartons are placed of the contents of the cartons will not be interfered with.

It is therefore an object of my inventionjto provide a carton of the character indicated and for the purpose set forth which shall provide means for ventilating or permitting access of air to the contents of the package. A second object of my invention is to provide a carton which shall be strong and simple of manufacture, as well as capable of retaining its strength undermoist conditions. I v r A further object of my invention is to provide a carton and a method of using the same which shall be of a. special advantage, in packaging fruit or the like, both immediately after picking or collecting the same and in the final' shipping stage.

, My invention has for further objects such.

other specific advantages and. improvements as may hereafter be found toobtain.

My invention contemplates the provision of a carton comprising an outer casing adapted to form a receptacle and having a plurality of side members,'usually four, forming at least a partial enclosure, together with an inner lining for said casing of such configuration as to conform gen- 'erally to the outer casing, but h'aVingre-entrant portions adapted to provide open ventilating spaces between said outer casing and said lining.-

Preferably the linerxis soconstituted with respect to the casing thatthe ventilating spaces thereby formed extend throughout substantially the entire length of the cartonas a whole, and the carton is provided with end closures having openings which coincide with the open ends of said ventilating spaces. Preferably such end closures are comprised of flaps connected to and forming extensions of the sides of said casing and having re-entrant or cut-out portions adapted to 5 coincide with the re-entrant portions of; said liner together, as in shipment or in storage, ventilation 1932; Serial No. 61 .032:

' Preferably, also, my I invention contemplates the provision 'of openings in the .re-entrant side portions of the liner, whereby assessor air to the interior of the liner is insured.

In order that my invention may be more clearly set forth and understood, I now describe with ref erenceto the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification, a preferred form and mannerin which-my invention. may be embodied and practiced, but without limiting my invention to thespecific details illustrated therein.

In this drawing, 1

Fig. l is a perspective viewof a carton cdnstructed in accordance with my present invention, the end ensures of said carton being shown in an open positioniand I r I Fig. 2 is an end view of the carton shown in Fig. 1,;said end closures being inthis instance bent to complete the closure of the carton.

Similar reference numerals designate similar parts in both of the views of the drawing. 7 Referring now-to the drawing, there is illustrateda carton consisting of a casing 1 having a plurality of sides 2. The sides2 are ordinarily of quadrilateral configuration, and the specific instance illustrated in l are rectangular. In this instance ther'e are four of the sides 2 and each of the sides 2'15 provided with end flaps 3 at both ends thereof. The end flaps 3 are adapted to be bent atright angles to the sides 2, as shownin Fig. '2 to. complete the enclosure partially formed by the sides 2.

Within theenclosure formed by the sides 2 there is provided a liner la, which in thisinstanceis of somewhat irregular octagonal shape, having four relatively, large sides t and four relatively small sides 5. The smallsides 5 are adapted to assume a-positionother than a right angle to thesides 2' of the casing 1 and thus provide re-entrant portions-or ventilating spaces 6 between the cornersof thecasing 1 and theliner. 1a. Preferably the spaces6 extend throughout the entire length or substantially the entire length of the carton as a whole, and preferably the sides 5 of the liner are provided with one or more openings '7- adaptedto providefor free ingress and egress of air between the interiorof the liner la and the ventilating spaces 6.

" Preferably the casing 1 and each formed-from a single blank. In the preferred form illustrated in Fig. 1, the join of the liner occurs along a median line of one of the sides 4, fastening strips or tabs 8 being employed at this point to fasten'together the two edges of the side 4 in which the join occurs. Similar fastening means (not shown) may be provided for the casing 1. V

In the preferred instance, the flaps 3 are each of such size as to extend across approximately one-half of the open end of the casing 1 when bent into the position in which they are'shown in Fig. 2, and each of the flaps 3 is formed with a re-entrant or cut-out portion 9 adjacent to the fold between the flaps 3 and the corresponding side 2 of the casing "1. The re-entrant portions 9v are adapted to coincide with the re-entrant portions of the liner andthus, when the flaps 3 are bent as shown iniFig. 2 to complete the closure of the carton, the open ends of the ventilating spaces 6 are not blocked, but remain open to permit freeaccess of air to the contents of the carton. l

It will be immediately obvious to those familiar with the art that the specific example described hereinabove and illustrated in the drawing is susceptible of considerablemodification in detail without departing from the essential teaching of my invention; Thus, various types of end clo sures may be employed for example, end closures entirely separate from thesides of the casingl might be provided at one or both ends of the carton, should this bed'esirable, and instead of re-entrant portions in the flaps 3 holes or openings of various sizes and shapes might be substituted therefor, the same being true of the openings'l. Moreover, the number of sides of the carton maybe increased orreduced as desired, and the locations 'of-the re-entrant portions of the liner 1a may bevaried or changed in configuration to suitindividual requirements.

Preferably the liner 1a is not fastened. to the casing 1 but is ofsuch size as inform a good friction fit with the latter, but it may be fastened to the casing l, ,if so desired.

' My carton may be constructed of any suitable material, but is especially adapted to be constructed of paper, fibre or the like, and I prefer to employ what is" generally known asdoublefaced corrugated kraft board. Moreover, I'prefer to'treat thematerial comprising the liner 1a with a suitable waterproofing agent, such for example as asphaltum, whenever protection against dampness is desirable. When the liner 1a has been thus treated, the carton resists such dampness as is apt to be encountered in the refrigerating cars in which shipment is'made, and the carton as a whole is thereby prevented from softening and sagging which might otherwise take place. a

It will be obvious that my carton'has numerous advantages not possessed by cartons heretofore known in the art, in addition to-providing for very thorough 'ventilation of theinterior contents of the carton when the same is placed alone or being handled. My invention also provides for adequate ventilation of the 'contentsof aplurality of such cartons when stored together irrespective of how the cartons are arranged or how closely they are placed together, this being of considerable advantage when it is realized that in shipping cartons very little care is iordinarily taken to provide for ventilation through the arrangement of the cartons. It will be obvious thatfacc'ording to my'invention, placing a' number of the cartons together, whether side by side or 'one above the other, will not seriously interfere with the ventilation of the contents of any of theindividual cartons. My carton has a further great advantage in ably located, as stated above, at the corners thereof, together form a structure of very high me- 7 chanical strength, offering unusual resistance to crushing even under very heavy loads. a

7 My invention makes it; possible to eifect unusual economies in the entire operationfof supply-- ing the cartons to the shipper, picking and pre- 1 paring the fruit, and finally packaging the same for shipping, and my invention, therefore, additionally contemplates a novel method of preparing fruit or the like for shipment, which will now be described.

- :As iswell known, it is customary for fruit pickers to employ'so-called field boxes in which the fruit is placed asit is picked and in which the fruit is delivered to the sizing and washing I machines.- .Ordinarily after the fruit has been prepared it'is placed in cartons or other packages bearing no relation to the field in the picking operation;

According to my invention, however, the carton 20, boxes employed supplied to the fruit grower includes the casing 1 which is to serve as the ultimateshipping pack- I This makes it posage as well as the liner 1a. sible 'toemploy the casing 1 as a 'substitutefo'r the usual field box with the very great advantage V that adequate ventilation of the fruit between the time it is picked and the time it-reaches the grading and washing'macliines is insured.

Preferably also the' casing 1 is adapted to be filled eventually with" relatively smalldispensing cartons in which the fruit is" to be sold to' the retail customer, the casing'l serving as a con-j venientshipping-carton for these dispensing cartons. Dispensing cartons of an especially suit able characterfor this purpose are described and 7 claimed in myprior U. S; Patent No. 1,741,369,

granted December 3l,-l929, and in my co-pend ing application Serial No. 631,647 filed September According to my presentmethod, the ventilated carton, consisting of -the casing 1 and the liner 1a, is used as a substitute for the field box, the fruit being placed in the'interior' of the carton as it is picked. t

Subsequently, the fruit is removed, graded and w cleaned, and the selected fruit is packed in small dispensing cartons which are then placed within the casing 1 for shipment, the liner la'having been removed in the meantime.

I have found that'it is possible to so construct j the liner that the dififerencebetween the bulk capacity of the combined casing and liner and the bulk capacity of the casing without'theliner' corresponds to or compensates for the volume difference betweenthe fruit as picked and the fruit as ultimately cartons. 1 r I Thus, byv way of. specific-instance, the casing 1 when an appropriate liner- 1a has, been placed therein may have a: capacity of say .46 lbs. of a given fruit,'such as oranges. ."It is found that after' cleaning, grading and selecting the fruit, only about 40 lbs. out of the original 46 lbsgo to the retail consumer. According to myinvention the difference/in the bulk volume between the fruit'as picked and the fruit as packaged in the small dispensing cartons is compensated for by adjusting the size of the *ventilating spaces 6,

packaged in the dispensing these being made larger or smaller as necessary.

It Will be obvious that the method I have'just.

practical advantage and importance, both from the standpoint ofthe'quali-ty of the 1 fruit and from the standpoint ofconvenience in handling and shipping both the empty and the filled cartoniw. i V r:

'My" invention 'is not limited to the specific details of the illustrativeexamples set forth hereinabove but is broadly'tobe'construed as ofthe scope of the claims hereinafter made. 7

1. A carton for packaging fruit and other hem modities" which comprises, in combination, an outer casing comprisin'ga plurality of side members and a bottom thereforandan innerlining therefor of such configuration as to conform to that of the outer casing and having re-entrant portions extending through substantially the entire length of the outer casing and adapted to provide open ventilating spaces between said outer casing and said lining throughout their lengths.

2. A carton for packaging fruit and other commodities which comprises, in' combination, an outer'casing comprising aplurality of side members forming at least a partial enclosure and an inner lining therefor of such configuration as to conform to that of the outer casing andhaving re-entrant portions extending through substan-v tially the entire length of the same and adapted to provide open' ventilating spaces between said outer casing and said lining, and end members associated with said casing for completingithe enclosure formed thereby and having openings adapted to coincide with the ends of said spaces.

3 A carton for packaging fruit and other commodities .which comprises, in combination, an outer casing Comprising a plurality of side members and a bottom therefor and an inner lining of substantially the same length as said outer casing and of such configuration as to conform to that of the outer casing and having re-entrant portions adapted to provide open spaces between said outer casing and said lining throughout their lengths, said re-entrant portions having openings to permit circulation of air between said spaces and that portion of the enclosure lying within said lining. I

4. A carton for packaging friut and other commodities which comprises, incombination, a receptacle having a plurality of rectangular sides forming a partial enclosure, a plurality of partitions forming re-entrant spaces within said partial enclosure, and end members adapted'to' complete said enclosure, at least one of said members having openings adapted to coincide with said reentrant spaces to permit ventilation therethrough.

5. A carton for packaging fruit and other commodities. which comprises, in combination, a receptacle having a plurality of rectangular sides forming a partial enclosure, a plurality of perforated partitions forming re-entrant spaces within said partial enclosures, and end members adapted to complete said enclosure, at least one of said members having openings adapted to coincide with said re-entrant spaces to permit ventilation of the contents of the enclosure therethrough.

6. A carton for packaging fruit and other commodities which comprises, in combination, a receptacle having a plurality of rectangular sides forming a partial enclosure, a plurality of partitions forming re-entrant spaces within said'partial enclosure, and end members'at least one of which is adapted to form an end closure for said receptacle without blocking access of air to all of said re-entrant spaces.

'7.- A carton for packaging fruit and other commodities whichbo'mpr'ises, incombination, a receptacle having-{four rectangular sides adapted to form a partial enclosure, inner partitions form ing re-entrant spaces inthe angles formed by saidsid'ea-which spaces-extend throughout at modities which comprises, in "combination, are

ceptacle having four rectangulari'sides adapted to form a partial enclosure'j'inner partitions forming re-entrant spaces in the angles formed by said sides, whichspaces extend throughout at least a substantial portion of the'length of said receptacle, and a plurality of end members adapted to complete said enclosure and having re-entrant portions adapted to coincide with said reentrant spaces, thereby permitting access of air thereto. 1

9. A carton for packaging fruit and other commodities which comprises in combination, an

outer casing havinga plurality of quadrilateral 7 sides forming apa'rtial enclosure, a lining therefor of such configuration as to conform closely to that of said outer casing but having perforated re-entrant portions adapted to provide ventilating spaces in the angles formed by the quadrilateral sides of said outer casing, and a plurality of flaps connected to said sides at at least one end thereof adapted to complete said'enclosure but having re-entrant portions adapted to coincide with the ends of said re-entrant spaces when the enclosure is completed.

10. A carton for packaging fruit and other commodities, which comprises a plurality of quadrilateral sides adapted to form a receptacle open at the ends, an end closure comprising flaps forming extensions of at least one of said sides and adapted to be bent at right angles thereto and having re-entrant portions adjacent thereto to provide ventilating openings for said receptacle when closed, and a removable lining for said receptacle comprising a plurality of sides closely conforming to the configuration of said receptacle but having re-entrant portions forming ventilating spaces between said receptacle and said lining, the ends of said spaces being adjacent to the ventilating openings formed by the re-entrant'portions' of said flaps. a

11. A carton for packaging fruit and other commodities, which comprises'a plurality of quadrilateral sides adapted to form a receptacle open at the ends, and end closure comprising flaps forming extensions of at least one of said sides and adapted to be bent at right angles thereto and having re-entrant portions adjacent thereto to provide ventilating openings for said receptacle when closed, and a removable lining for said receptacle comprising a plurality of sides closely conforming to the configuration of said receptacle and having re-entrant portions forming ventilating spaces between said receptacle and said lining, the ends of said spaces being adjacent to the ventilating openings formed by there-entrant portions of said flaps, the re-entrant portions of said lining'being perforated to permit access of air to the interior of the enclosure formed by said lining and said'fiaps.

12. A carton for packaging fruit and, other commodities, which comprises, in combination,

an outer casing having four sides at right angles to each other and a bottom therefor, anda liner of substantiallythe same length as-said outer casing having four sides forming a structure closely fitting the outer casing, and having four intermediate sides disposed at other than a right angle to the sides of said liner and adapted to form ventilating spaces between said casing and said liner throughout their lengths at the junctures of the several sides of said casing, said intermediate sides having perforations therein to permit access of air to the spacebetween the sides of said liner.

13. A carton for packaging fruit and other commodities, which comprises, in combination, an outer casing having four sides at right angles to each other, forming at least aipartial enclosure; V

and a liner therefor havingfour-sides to form a structure closely fitting the outer casing, andrhaving four intermediate sides disposed at other than a right angle to the sides of said liner and adapted to form ventilating spacesbe- V tween said casing and saidliner atthe -junctures of the several sides of said casing, said intermediate sides having perforations thereinto permit Q.

access of air tothe space-betweenthe sides {or said liner, and end-closures for said casing hav ing openings positioned to to said ventilating spaces.

provide access'of t 

